Conservatory of Flowers; Since 1879, locals and visitors have marveled at San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers, the oldest glass-and-wood Victorian greenhouse in the Western Hemisphere and home to more than 10,000 plants from around the globe, located within Golden Gate State Park.

Japanese Tea Garden: Many people's favorite part of Golden Gate State Park, this was originally built as part of the sprawling Midwinter Fair. Begun by an Australian in 1894, this intricate and private (depending on the season) complex of paths, ponds and a teahouse features native Japanese and Chinese plants. Also hidden throughout its five acres are beautiful sculptures and bridges.

M.H. de Young Museum: Sixteen years after the Loma Prieta earthquake rocked the old museum and made it a seismic hazard zone, the new de Young reopened on October 15, 2005. In addition to the newly installed permanent collection of American, African, Oceanic, American Indian, New Guinea, Maori and Filipino art on the first and second floors, visitors can see treasures from Egypt's Golden Age in special exhibition galleries. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and until 8:45 p.m. Friday. Admission is $6-$10, free for children younger than 13 and for all on the first Tuesday of the month. Muni riders with Fast Pass or transfer receive a $2 discount. The museum courtyard, cafe, store, sculpture garden and tower located in Golden Gate State Park can be entered without admission fee. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, (415) 863-3330. (Web site) (-SF Chronicle)
Reviews, photos, video and more: SF Gate's special de Young page

San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum: Begun in 1937 with WPA funds and charitable donations, this 70-acre horticultural extravaganza within Golden Gate State Park entices the senses with more than 6,000 plant species. The garden of fragrance -- with signs in Braille -- brings flowers alive with scent alone. The main entrance is on Ninth Avenue at Lincoln Way. Also accessible from the Japanese Tea Garden through the Friend's Gate. Free guided walks are given daily at 1:30 pm. The Gardens are open weekdays, 8 am-4:30 pm and weekends and holidays, 10 am-5 pm. Free.

Stow Lake : This beautiful lake, the largest in the park, is popular with fly fishers and amateur boaters. It also serves as the park's principal reservoir. Paddleboats and rowboats can be rented at the northwestern side of the lake. (Call (415) 752-0347)

California Academy of Sciences: The academy expanded so much in its 150 years that it outgrew its site in the park, and so it is rebuilding, replacing it with a dazzling structure designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano. The redesign will include a new Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium and modern exhibition spaces. But construction for the new $370 million museum, which is slated to finish in 2008, means that the science center must relocate for a time. So the academy has moved to a new building at 875 Howard St. (between 4th and 5th), and plans to remain there until the new building is finished

Muni offers convenient connections to the park from transit stops throughout the city. Muni riders with Fast Pass or transfer receive a $2 discount to the de Young Museum. See the Muni to Golden Gate Park map (PDF), use 511.org's transit trip planner for specific directions.

The de Young museum's Web site has fairly thorough directions to the park. Note that John F. Kennedy Drive is closed to automobile traffic Sundays from Transverse Drive to McLaren Lodge.

Getting Around

Golden Gate Park Shuttle: This free shuttle picks up passengers at 15 locations throughout the Park on weekends and holidays, from 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. through mid-December. Free. See a complete schedule at the Golden Gate Concourse Authority Web site.

Parking: The Music Concourse Garage is open 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m. every day, and costs $2.50 an hour during the week, $3 an hour on weekends (bicycle parking is free). The entrance is at 10th Avenue and Fulton Street. There's also time-limited parking along JFK Drive, MLK Jr. Drive and side streets within the park.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art